Cornell Notetaking Method

Cornell Method

With the Cornell method, different parts of the notebook paper have different functions. Notes are recorded on one half, key words and concepts are recorded in another area called the recall column, and a summary is recorded at the bottom of the paper.

The Cornell method is similar to the two-column method and the REAP strategy. More information related to the Cornell method is included in the Reviewing Notes section of this page.

The Cornell method of note taking offers several advantages. It results in more organized notes. It allows students to quickly and identify key words and key concepts from a lecture. The notes can easily be used as a study guide for exam preparation. The arrangement of information is aesthetically pleasing and easy to scan, making it easy to locate particular pieces of information. The strategy may be adapted to a number of presentation formats.

Directions for using the Cornell method are as follows.

?Divide the paper

?Use loose leaf notebook paper and write on one side of the page only.

?Divide the paper vertically by drawing a line from top to bottom about 2" from the left side of the page.

?Documentation

o Write the following information at the top of each page: student name, course, date, and page number.

?Record Notes

o During lecture, record the main ideas and concepts on the right side of the page.

This is the notes column.

o Rephrase the information in your own words before writing it down.

o Skip one line between ideas and several lines between topics.

o Avoid writing in complete sentences; use symbols and abbreviations instead.

o The format or style of the notes can vary, but avoid using a formal outline.

Suggestions for organizing the notes are:

?Paragraph Style: For unstructured information, record notes in paragraph

style with short, telegraphic sentences and phrases.

?Topic and Ideas Style: For expanded topic information, record topics and

ideas.

?Sentence Style: For ideas and concepts, record notes in short sentences.

?Definition Style: For main topics and features, record definitions and

explanations of words in short phrases.

?Review and Clarify

o As soon after class as possible, review the notes in the right column and clarify any ambiguous information.

o Compare the information with the book and/or other students' notes.

o Then pull the main ideas, concepts, terms, places, dates, and people from the right column and record them in the left-hand recall column.

o Summarize

?Prepare a summary of the lecture material and record it at the end of the notes.

o The summary may be in sentences or short phrases. It should include only the main ideas from the lecture.

?Study

o Use both sections of the notes to prepare for quizzes and exams.

o Some reviewing strategies that are suited to the Cornell format are NoteSHRINK, NoteTALK, and NoteTHINK.

An example of the Cornell method of note taking is provided below.

NoteSHRINK Strategy

The NoteSHRINK strategy (Bragstad and Mueller Stumpf, 1987) is used to shrink presentation notes down to their essence. It assumes that notes are recorded in the Cornell style, with a note column on the right and a recall or quiz column on the left.

?Survey the notes by reading the first sentence of every paragraph or block.

?For each paragraph, summarize in one or two words what the entire paragraph is about.

Underline or highlight these topics.

?Examine all of the topics and determine what are the biggest "thought chunks" possible?

Record those major concepts in the quiz column.

NoteTALK Strategy

The NoteTALK strategy (Bragstad and Mueller Stumpf, 1987) involves self-recitation in order to increase understanding of information and to commit information to memory. It is an extremely effective strategy for learning and remembering information. The strategy is used with the Cornell format of note taking.

?Cover the main column of notes.

?Look at each key word or phrase in the quiz (recall) column and recall all the relevant information from the notes related to that topic.

?Put the information in your own words, and recite the information aloud.

?Uncover the notes to check for accuracy.